Big Sur: Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge readying for girder launch within a week or two

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Work on the south anchorage at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Steel workers work 320 feet above the Pfeiffer Canyon at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

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Work is on schedule at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. Cal Trans said they are on schedule for a mid to late September opening. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

The north anchorage at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Work is on schedule at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. Cal Trans said they are on schedule for a mid to late September opening. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Crane engineers prepare the large crane to haul the steel girders at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Crane engineers prepare the large crane to haul the steel girders at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

An old cement bridge pillar remains in place at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Steel workers work 320 feet above the Pfeiffer Canyon at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Work on the south anchorage at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Steel workers work 320 feet above the Pfeiffer Canyon at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Work is on schedule at the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consturction site on Highway One in Big Sur on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. Cal Trans said they are on schedule for a mid to late September opening. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Demolition of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge continued on Friday as plans for a new single span steel bridge to be completed in six months, according to Caltrans. (Photo courtesy Caltrans)

The third and final span of the condemned Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge came down Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Caltrans)

Crews successfully demolished the middle section (span No. 2) of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur on Saturday, Caltrans officials said. Span No. 3 (north section) was demolished on Thursday. Span No. 1 (south section) demolition will begin Monday and is expected to take several days. The bridge was closed in February after mud and rock slides triggered by heavy winter storms caused unrepairable damage. Construction of a replacement bridge is expected to take nine months to a year to complete. For traffic updates on Caltrans projects, call the District 5 at 831-372-0862 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#mon. (Caltrans photo)

Crews use a 6,000-pound wrecking ball attached to a crane on the demolition of the storm damaged Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur on Thursday. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Crews were making progress on the demolition of the storm damaged Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur on Thursday. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Cracks are visible on the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge as construction crews work to dismantle the structure on Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

A crane operator moves a box over a fracture on the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in the early morning before adding wrecking ball to dismantle the structure on Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Cracks grow on the east side of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 as construction crews use a wrecking ball to dismantle the structure in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Construction crews use a wrecking ball to dismantle the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 has been closed and condemned due to damage from storms in Big Sur, Calif. on Wednesday, March, 8, 2017. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 has been closed and condemned due to damage from storms in Big Sur, Calif. on Wednesday, March, 8, 2017. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

Construction crews use a wrecking ball to dismantle the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Construction crews use a wrecking ball to dismantle the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Construction crews use a wrecking ball to dismantle the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur, Calif. on Monday March 15, 2017. The bridge was compromised after slides occurred in the area associated with this winter's heavy rains. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 has been closed and condemned due to damage from storms in Big Sur, Calif. on Wednesday, March, 8, 2017. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

Large cracks cross Highway 1 south of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge due to the recent storms in Big Sur, Calif. on Wednesday, March, 8, 2017. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 has been closed and condemned due to damage from storms in Big Sur, Calif. on Wednesday, March, 8, 2017. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

Caltrans engineers evaluate storm damage near a large crack on the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur on Wednesday February 22, 2017. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

A cracked column supporting the Highway 1 Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur on Monday February 13, 2017. Caltrans has closed the bridge in the heart of Big Sur Village to vehicle traffic after it was discovered that one of the columns holding the bridge up is cracked due to erosion. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Caltrans engineers evaluate storm damage near a large crack where the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is sagging on Highway 1 in Big Sur on Wednesday February 22, 2017. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

Within the next week or two, the girders that will support the 310-foot, single-span bridge across Pfeiffer Canyon will be delivered, assembled, then launched via rollers, from one abutment to the other, bringing the construction project closer to its September completion date.

“We’re doing something in seven months that normally takes seven years,” said Bob Riggins, an assistant structure representative for MNS Engineers. “Caltrans, contractors and government agencies have been working almost around the clock to get this done.”

The “engineering feat” of launching steel girders across Pfeiffer Canyon will be a very slow, methodical process that leaves no room for error and will be handled by contractor Golden State Bridge of Benicia, said Riggins.

“It’s going to take a little while to bolt them together and launch them across the canyon,” he said. “I don’t anticipate any problems. I’m confident because so many eyes have been on this project. . It’s the most scrutinized one I’ve ever been on.”

The replacement bridge was put on an expedited track as local businesses saw lost revenue and travelers from around the globe had to rethink their itineraries.

But once the girders are in position and anchored, concrete can be poured into forms that will create the bridge deck for the Highway 1 roadway that will complete the link from north to south, except about 35 miles south at the massive Mud Creek slide.

That slide occurred in May, unleashing 5 million cubic yards of material and burying a large swath of Highway 1 in its path. Assessments are still being done and no plan has been formulated for that portion of the highway, which remains impassable.

The new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge replaces a span that was nearly 50 years old. The old bridge was supported by columns that started to fail in February after heavy winter storms caused slides up and down the Central Coast including in the canyon below the bridge.

The bridge was ultimately demolished in March as Caltrans engineers, designers and planners moved forward with a replacement strategy.

The transportation agency decided on a $24 million plan to build a single-span, steel girder structure without the columns that made the previous configuration vulnerable to landslides.

A portion of the center column of the former structure still protrudes from the ground below the construction site where the earth continues to be a bit active.

“It’s holding back the slide material,” said Riggins.

But on either side of the canyon, huge abutments stand at the ready to anchor the girders and provide part of the platform of what will eventually be the finished roadway.

Riggins said the abutments are the most important part of this engineering feat because they will provide the foundation and support for the entire bridge. Bore holes, 4 feet in diameter, were drilled 100 feet into the mountain to bedrock far below, and reinforced with rebar and concrete.

“That’s what stabilizes the foundation,” he said.

Contractors work atop temporary launch towers 320 feet above the canyon floor, building and positioning the rollers that will be used to launch the steel girders once they have been delivered and assembled on the north side of the construction site.

Work has been ongoing seven days a week, with 12-hour days usually starting between 6 and 7 a.m.

The bridge construction is on schedule for a mid- to late-September completion.

Riggins has 36 years of experience and has been on the Pfeiffer Canyon job since the beginning. He said his role is to manage the structural aspects of the construction to make sure work is done to standards and is in compliance for the structural integrity of the project.

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